Purple Sorrow, brings Silvery Relief
by The Winds of Chaos
Summary: "So Percy begins telling them about one mission he & Nico had gone on down in the underworld it had been terrifying & they almost hadn't made it out with their lives"


_Okay this is the sequel to Multicolored tears, which is a companion piece to Breaking Point. They can all be read on their own, but they make more sense together._

It was too warm of a day to do much of anything really, so Percy, Nico, and Annabeth were laid up in the Poseidon Cabin reminiscing about old quests. They had a plethora to choose from, each adventure was wilder than the last and quirkier than the next. Nico had just finished telling them about the time he caught Persephone with an old lover of hers on the request (demand) of Hades. He was some award winning gardener an she just couldn't stay away. Hades had, had his assumptions for a while but it was summer and there was nothing he could do about it-Except for sending Nico after them one balmy evening in Spain. By the end of the tale he had Percy rolling around on their bed clutching his sides out of laughter and Annabeth had collapsed in a fit of giggles on the floor in front of their bed. When the laughter died down Annabeth and Nico looked towards Percy for their next memory. So Percy begins telling them about one mission he and Nico had gone on down in the underworld, it had been terrifying and they almost hadn't made it out with their lives...

He remembers one quest he had, had when he was 19. Percy was all grown up, starting collage and finally moving out of his mom's apartment. His feelings ran from ecstatic too worried and everywhere in between when he thought about leaving the confines of his mother's warm home, but he knew in the end that he had to. Besides he and Nico were getting a loft a couple of streets away anyway, and the thought of sharing with Nico sent shivers up his spine which got rid of any of his worries. Thinking of Nico as his boyfriend still sent shock waves rocketing through his body even though they'd been dating for 5 months and were still going strong (Much to Isis Nico's self appointed stalker's dismay). He was in the middle of dismantling his bed, while his mom went through a few of his old baby pictures when the shimmer of an Iris Message appeared in front of him. A head of messy black hair, gleaming onyx eyes and the matured olive toned face of a 16 year old Nico Di Angelo shined in the wavering mist. The smile that graced the Sea's Son slowly melted off his face as the caught the disturbed look on his boyfriend's face. Something had to be wrong, because Nico _Never_ looked disturbed.

"what's wrong" the green eyed boy had asked after studying Nico's dismayed face for a moment, Nico only fidgeted in response shifting his weight to his back foot while cutting a sharp look to Sally, Percy's mother, who was watching the entire exchange silently from the corner of her eye. It wasn't that she didn't trust them Percy was her son and she thought of Nico as a son as well, she was just curios as too what was going on. Honestly she was happy for the boys because they were happy together. Even though she still hadn't fully grasped the confines of their relationship yet-physical or otherwise, she had never seen either boy happier or more confident. When she caught the look on Nico's face though she smiled and left but not before giving out a mock-serious warning.

"Alright I'll leave, but no one better be crying when I get back."

She chuckled a few times before leaving the room. Percy laughed under his breath as his mom shut the door behind her, before looking back up to Nico. Nico look slightly amused but it wasn't enough to hide the minor panic in his eyes.

"I...I need your help." He explained.

"Sure, with what?" Percy asked back knowing that he'd come help him no matter what the problem was. He stood from his spot on the floor and stretched out his sore muscles. Nico looked nervous like he didn't want to explain what he needed help with. The fact that Nico looked nervous to ask for help upset Percy somewhat because that meant that Nico thought Percy would reject his plea, and Percy didn't like it that Nico didn't fully trust their relationship yet.

"I…I'll tell you when you get here okay? Just know that it's in the underworld and it could be extremely dangerous." Nico said a twinge of uncertainty in his voice.

"Okay" Percy said easily while nodding his head and heading for his bedroom door. I'll show him one way or another that he can trust me, I'm not just going to walk out of his life. He thought as he left the room.

As Percy said this to his avid listeners Nico looped an arm around his neck, placing a chaste kiss on his cheek.

"You haven't left me yet" He said while displaying a cheeky smile

Percy was about to reply when Annabeth cleared her throat below them.

'Umm...guys the story" She reminded. Percy blushed slightly but continued anyway...

"I'll tell mom that I'm leaving so she doesn't worry...too much. Then you can _summon_ me to…where ever you're at." He finished before leaving the room.

The Iris Message floated after him as he walked down the hallway, shuddering slightly at the slight change in light but not disappearing. Nico's pensive look had calmed slightly now that Percy had agreed to help him and he was even smiling a little, albeit it was just a twitch at the corner of his mouth but a smile none the less, at the accomplishment. Not that it was hard to get Percy to help someone, the whole loyalty complex applied to just about anyone, but Nico always felt special when the beacon of light that was Percy shined on him, if even for a little while.

Percy found his mom in the living room moving the last of his boxes to the front door, for the movers to take to his new loft a couple of streets away. He wasn't taking much from his parent's apartment, but it was enough that he needed a small truck to move it all. When Sally turned around Percy could see the faint lines around her eyes crinkle slightly as she smiled that warm smile of hers at them. Nico's smile became more than a twitch of his lips in return, but it shrunk back in on it's self when Percy told her that Nico needed his help.

"I don't know what with yet, but it doesn't really matter." He had said when she asked what Nico needed.

Death's son was silent for most of their conversation. The only sign that he was even listening was when he blushed intermittently in response to some of Percy's slightly endearing remarks. Sally's smile grew when she saw Nico's slight blushes, but Percy was oblivious to both as he talked things over with his mom.

"You're always so sweet." Nico complained for a moment, interrupting the story again.

"shut up, it's not like I mean to be." Percy retorted while looking at Nico from the corner of his eye.

"And so Oblivious!" Nico added in return.

"Nico, you know you like Percy's endearing obliviousness" Annabeth called out tiliting her head backwards to catch his eye.

"whatever" He muttered, but he smiled anyway.

Finally Sally agreed to say good bye and gave him a hug before stepping back a few feet.

She had seen Nico _Summon_ people before and she didn't like to be that close to the Icy shadows that would take over and sweep away her son. When they came in, they always brought all of the ominous and foreboding feelings that came with being in the dark. The shadows made her skin tingle and burn, and the hairs on the back of her neck and arms jumped to attention whenever she was near. As the dark fog dissipated she couldn't see any remains of Percy or Nico and his Iris message. A chilling feeling of dread coated her stomach and clawed at her heart as she studied the empty spot where her son had just stood. She allowed the feeling to worry her for barley a minute before dismissing it as a trace effect of Nico's _Summoning_. She laughed at her own silliness as she turned to head back to Percy's room to finish preparing for the mover's arrival.

Four months later found Sally sitting alone at the island in her kitchen, face in her hands and tears steadily dripping down into her cold coffee. _Four Months_and not a single word from either Percy or Nico. When they didn't come home after a couple weeks she had asked Chiron if he'd heard from them, from anybody who might have seen them, but he hadn't. He had told her _not_ to worry. Nico had been on more than a hundred quests, running errands for his dad or missions for the camp, and Percy had been on even more. He told her that they had each other and that they would be fine. They were _smart_ boys, _Powerful_ boys. He didn't think that either of them could have chosen a better partner for this mission, what ever the mission was, because even he didn't know what it was about. He told her that they would be safe, and they would come home, but even Chiron who had thousands of years of practice couldn't hide the undertone of worry in his voice. He loved Percy and Nico as if they were his own sons, and in more than a few ways the two young men were his sons.

Still after a lifetime of raising Percy and after years of playing mom for Nico, who had been sleeping on her couch more and more frequently in the last few years, she knew that they were smart and powerful and that as long as they had each other they would be (more or less) safe. That didn't worry her. What worried her was she knew _just_ how _far_ they were willing to go for each other. The ends of the Earth wouldn't stop them, and neither would the threat of death. True both boys were powerful and smart, but they were also impulsive and emotional and they didn't always think things through. If either of them got hurt in a fight the other would lose any rational thought besides _how do I help him?_

She knows that Percy is invulnerable but she also knows that his loved ones are his greatest weakness. She knows that Nico is resilient and never gives up, but she also knows that with out Percy there to follow his steps and keep him grounded he can lose sight of his priorities. They would do anything for each other and they do draw strength from their bond, but it can also become their greatest weakness when they let each other distracts themselves. That's what worried her more than anything else.

As she sat there holding her head in her hands Sally thinks about how her entire life has come to a complete stop. She thinks about the absolute mess that she has become since Percy and Nico's disappearance. She hadn't showered in days and the house hadn't been cleaned in weeks. She hadn't touched her manuscript in she can't even remember how long. Her clothes were bedraggled and stained and her hair was messy and uneven. Her face was tear streaked and it had been that way for months, she couldn't find the will power to do _anything_. _Four Months, one week, and three days_ and she had lost all hope that the boys would return to her, and the fact that she didn't have any hope left in her is what broke her inside because with out hope what else did you have? A crash from the living room startles her out of her damming stupor and although she knows that she should go see what made the noise she can't make herself. When a throaty moan rips itself out of a tender throat she gets up from her perch at the island and stumbles into the adjoining living room.

At first she can't make sense of the tangled mass sprawled on her floor and couch, but as she studies their forms she finally comprehends what she's seeing. An unbelieving gasp flees from her throat as a hand flies up to cover her mouth. Her eyes tear up again and her has to blink furiously to clear her vision just to make sure that what she's seeing is real and not some fantasy from her deprived mind. A small whimper escapes from the mess of black hair on the couch and Sally immediately rushes over to the boys.

She doesn't understand why Nico is cut and bleeding from every visible patch of skin or why he's curled in a fetal position around his and Percy's joined hands. She doesn't know why Percy's clothes are tattered and sagging at the desperate seams or why he unconscious. All she knows is that they made it home and for the first time in months she can take a full breath. The elephant that has been sitting on her lungs for too long has vanished. She knows that the ferocious animal that has been clawing at her heart, tearing her up inside and making it impossible to do anything this last month has vanished. As she leans her head on the boy's hands she thanks every deity that she knows exists and clutches their hands in her own. A fresh set of tears leak out of her eyes, but instead of dark purple sorrow driving them it's a silvery blue relief. Relief that they made it home, made it back too her.

"Your mom was really torn up about us going missing." Nico whispered, remembering the devastated mannerisms of Sally that day.

"Yeah, it really hurt her when we went missing." Percy replied.

"She didn't let you guys out of her sight for weeks after that, Remember?" Annabeth asked.

"Yeah, it was awful! Weeks locked in Sall'y Apartment, being force fed, watching movies all night and playing games all day. I can't believe she did that too us!" Nico exclaimed while throwing an arm over his eyes and flopping down onto the bed next to Percy.

"Dude shut up, you know you loved it" Percy grinned as he watched Nico's smile peak out from under his arm.

"Yeah I did, it was great." He laughed out before wrapping an arm around Percy's chest and burrowing into his neck.

"Your turn Annabeth." He muttered from his spot on Percy before closing his eyes. Percy laughed while proping one hand behind his head and throwing the other around Nico's too skinny waist.

"Yeah, Wise Gril tell him about the one where Athena sent us out to get that girl from Canada." Percy prompted before closing his eyes as well and listening to Annabeth's steady voice weave her tale.


End file.
